Vacuum-cleaner



1. W. DIEPHOUSE.

VACUUM CLEANER. APPLICAUON FILED sEPT.12, 1911.

Patented Nov. 8, 1921.

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VACUUM-CLEANER.

Speceation of Letters Patent.

Patented N ov. 8, 1921.

Application filed September 12y 1917. Serial No. 190,893.

To all whom t may concer/n.:

Be it known that I, JACOB W. DmPHoUsn a citizen of the United States, residing at Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Ilhnois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Vacuum-Cleaners, of which the following is a specication.

This invention relates to vacuum cleaners and has for its object to providea machine of this characterT adapted to be operated by hand, simple in construction light in weight and which can be manufactured at comparatively low cost.

In the accompanying drawings, illustratingthe invention,

Figure 1 is a sectional elevation of the latter wheels having rubber tires 9 which.

travel in contact with the rollers 10 on the ends of the revolving sweeper 11. 'The rollers, wheels and sweeper are of any suitable form and construction and are mounted in the ends of the sweeper casing in an approved manner. A dust trough 12 is pivotally mounted at 13 within the sweeper casing in front of the sweeper and is normall held in elevated position by a spring 14.

lever 15 is engaged with the trough and projects outward through `the sweeper casing so that it can be manlp-ulated by hand or foot to depress the trough against the tension of its spring to clean the trough. Another dust trough 16 is p-ivoted at 17 in the ends of thev sweeper casing behind the sweeper, and this trough is likewise held 1n elevated position by a spring 17 and 1s provided with a lever 18 which pro-jects outward for manipulation by the hand or foot to depress the trough for cleaning..

The vacuum casing is made to fit snugly over the front and top of the sweeper casing and is provided with an elongated mouth 19 'vided with a transverse pin 45 o .through slots 46 in the sleeve` through the casing in convenient positlon which is located slightly below the lower edge of the sweeper casing and in front of the dust troughs and sweeper. The vacuum .casing'tapers upwardly and rearwardly to its rear end which is shaped to form the fan casing 2O arranged in upright position immediately above the sweeper casing. This fan casing is shown to be an integral part of the vacuum casing and is so preferably made, but these two casings may be made in separate parts and properly secured toi gether. The casing is provided with an outlet nozzle 21 to which a dust collecting bag may be attached in any desired manner. fan 22 of suitable construction is mounted within thev fan casing upon a shaft 23 jour` nal'ed in a bearing 24 -on the back' of said casing. The-shaft 23 carries a pinion 25 which meshes with a gear 26 on another shaft 27 journaled in a bearing 28 on the b ack of the front casing and this shaft 27 also carries a pinion 29 which meshes with a gear 30 mounted on the drive shaft 31 which is supported in bearings 32 in a gear box 33 secured on the back of the fan casing. The drive shaft is provided with a universal joint 34 o-f any suitable kind within the gear box and adjacent to the bearings 32 and the shaft projects outward through a slot 35 in the rear end of the gear box. The upper end of the shaft carries a bevelpinion 36 which meshes with a bevel gear 37 mounted in bearings in a box 38 and operated by a crank 39. The box 38 is mounted on a tube 40 in which the drive shaft operates and a handle 41 is fastened to the box. The tube 40 is provided at its lower end with a fork 42 which embraces the gear box 33 at its rear end, and the ends of the fork are pivotally engaged at 43 with the gear box. To provide for longitudinal expansion of the shaft 31 when the shaft is swung vertically and insure proper meshing of the gears 36 and 37 I divide the shaft into two parts and connect them by a slip joint consisting of a sleeve 44 fastened at one end to one part as 31 of the shaft and loosely receiving the end of the other part as 31 which is prorating Smce the shaft and the tube are pivoted at different centers it will be readily understood that as thev handle 41 is raised or lowered the shaft 31 will adjust itself longitudinally as reand eiicient manner.

48 beneath the gear box 33 primarily to prevent the machine from tilting when itisdrawn backward but also' to facilitate the` movement of the machine in use.

My invention provides a compact and sfimple machine of this character which is very light in construction, easy to operate and W ich will perform its work in a thorough I am aware that changes in the form and proportion/of parts may be made without departing from the Spirit or the scope of the invention and I, therefore, lreserve the right to make all such changes-as fairly fall within the scope of the following claims.

I claim:

1. In a vacuum cleaner, the combination of a vacuum casing, a nozzle in proximity to the surface to becleaned and in communication with said vacuum casing, a fan casing, a fan in said fan casing, a gearbox mounted on said fan casing, gearing in said gear box for operating said fan, a tube pivotally mounted at one end on said gear box, and carrying another gear box on its outer end, a shaft engaging with Said gearing to operate the same and projecting outwardly through the rear end of the first mentioned gear box and into said last mentioned gear box, a universal joint on saidl shaft within the first mentioned gear box, and means carried by said last mentioned gear box for operating said shaft, said 'shaft being in two -parts and its ends being connected by a slip joint Within said tube.

2. In a vacuum cleaner, the combination of a vacuum casing, a nozzle in proximity tothe surface to be cleaned and in communicatlon with said vacuum casing, a fan caslng, ay fan in said fan casing, a gear box mounted on said fan casing, gearing in said gea-r box for operating said fan, a tube pivotally mounted at one endy on said gear box, another gear box mounted on the other end of said tube, a shaft engaged 'with said gearing to operate the same and projecting outwardly through the rear end of the first mentioned gear box and into the last mentioned gear box, a universal joint on said Shaft within said first mentioned gear box, bevel gears Within said last mentioned gear box for operating said shaft, a crank for operating said bevel gears, said shaft being in' two parts within said tube, a sleeve inclosing the adjacent ends of said parts, said sleeve being fastened to one end and loosely receiving the other 'end and having a slot between its ends, and a pin on the loosely received y end of the shaft projecting into said slot. JACOB W. DIEPHOUSE.

Witnesses:

FRED ABRAHAMSEN, 4 M. A; KIDDIE. 

